Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)
Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando; d. Francis Ford Coppola; A-

It's all too obvious a fact that Francis "The Godfather" Coppola's war masterpiece Apocalypse Now did not need a "redux." As America's favorite hack and lackey, Richard Roeper, pointed out on the Ebert and Hack, er, Roeper show, the original had a keen and specific narrative flow. The thought of extra scenes added into such a tight story conjured up images of a good film bogged down by scenes might have been cut for a reason. Just think of how many needless scenes were inserted into The Godfather: A Novel For Television by Coppola himself! Plus, there's something called a "DVD" now a days, and certainly those scenes that make up the reduxes and versions-you've-never-seen-before could be placed on those, instead of flashed on the big screen in context with an already finished film.

But, let's not kid ourselves here: Regardless if there is a certain fear of seeing a classic movie ruined by unneeded additional scenes, people will still see films like Apocalypse Now Redux for the opportunity to see one of their favorite films on a big screen again, or for the first time, with the benefit of modern theater technology, as well as sheer curiosity to see exactly how those additional scenes work in context with the film. This was certainly my case. I saw Apocalypse Now earlier this year on DVD after seeing it mentioned on a war film documentary. I was completely captivated by it, and gave myself anxiety attacks just to see it when I discovered an extended version would be released in theaters that upcoming summer. Most of my favorite films are "oldies," so it is rare that I should ever see them on the big screen. So, regardless if they're reduxed, restored, or just re-shown, I'd be more than willing to see them in a movie theater if the opportunity knocked. So, when August 3rd arrived, I opened up my arms (and my internet server to look for showtimes) and said "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

While it may not have been quite as good as the original, I loved the smell of Apocalypse Now Redux in the afternoon.

The original Apocalypse Now focused on the physical and mental journey of a man, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), who is sent on a mission to kill an allegedly insane colonel (Marlon Brando) during the Vietnam war. Redux has the same plot, only that the added scenes make it seem more like "a man is sent to kill an insane man, and along the way observes the uselessness of the US involvement in the war." Each and every new scene adds to the film's ironic look at the US politics of the Vietnam War. However, the idea that the United States' involvement in the War was silly and useless was no quite so battered over one's head in the original as much as it is in Redux. The new scenes may make the film more funny (and who couldn't laugh at Robert Duval's Lt. Colonel Kilgore's obsessive pursuit of a surfboard?), more critical, and "more erotic," but generally have no true artistic merit outside of reinforcing what was already stated well enough in the original.

Unfortunately, Coppola and company have spent too much time and energy promoting two scenes that truly don't add much to the film. First, the extra Playboy Bunny scenes, where Willard's crew comes across an unattended to medical ward on the river where the Playboy helicopter has landed due to lack of fuel. While this scene's point is particularly interesting, that the army would rather give the royal treatment (and fuel) to celebrities who are not helping the war effort as opposed to soldiers who deserve/need it, the message is lost in a series of stale, confusing, and completely random series of events. Even more confusing is the French plantation scene, interesting only because of its offering of another country's perspective of America's involvement in the war, and, well, because it's beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, much of what is said is covered under hard to understand French accents, frequent overlapping conversation, stuffed mouths, and an annoying accordion player.

The other additional footage extend scenes already in the film, including the "Ride of the Valkryes" scene and concluding interactions with Kurtz. Again, while interesting, they don't do much outside of reinforcing what had already been stated. Now, with all that said, on its own, Apocalypse Now Redux is a very good film. It's more epic in scale than the original, and there are few, if any, lagging spots. Even if the additional footage weren't truly necessary, put in context with the film they make for a very interesting and captivating watch. The performances are still solid as ever, the cinematography still dazzling, the use of sound and music still brilliant, the direction still masterful, etc etc etc. If anything, Apocalypse Now Redux is without a doubt the best war film you'll see this year, and that genre seems to be popping up in theaters this year like Coppolas in the movie industry.